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With 2021 behind us, WoSJ had a talk with Irish rider Darragh Kenny, who looks back at last year – and forward to the new one.

“Last year was quite good. I had a big change of horses though, which was something new for me. I had a few very good horses join my string and I got to go to the Olympics – which was fantastic!" Kenny tells. 

"The Olympic Games with VDL Cartello were of course a big highlight for me, as was winning the LGCT Grand Prix in Monaco with Idaville d’Esprit. I also had a really good show at the GC Playoffs in Prague."

"I have a few new horses right now, and I look forward to building them up during the year. My aim is to get back in the Top 10 again and hopefully go to the World Championships in Herning with VDL Cartello." 

The pandemic definitely affected my thoughts on showing and riding. I think it left a lot of people thinking more about their lifestyles and that you don’t have to go to a horse show every week. 

"Instead of competing, my horses got a little break in the summer and came back really good from it," Kenny points out.  

"I think this year for me will be more about picking the shows that I really want to do, the championships that I really want to do, and try to build up some of the other horses – so it will be less shows for me. To do three shows a month is more the way I would like to do it. Obviously, sometimes you have to keep going a little bit more, but I think with less shows you can really stay focused and try to produce the best results possible,” Kenny closes off. 

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